Simple, Wholesome, Plant-Based Food

Tahini Banana Oat Cookies

Hello hello, my friends! I hope you’ve all been well? I have a really healthy and delicious treat for you today. Soft, hearty, and nourishing enough to eat for breakfast, these date-sweetened, oil-free, and gluten free cookies are a breeze to make and guaranteed to brighten up the gloomiest of days.

Has anyone else had non-stop gray days as far as the eye can see? We enjoyed one beautiful day of sunshine and spring-like weather last week, and although it hasn’t been as frigid outside, the weather has been foggy, gray, and rainy otherwise. I can’t think of a better way to spend a dismal day than baking up tasty, wholesome treats. These cookies are tender, subtly sweet, with a hint of tahini flavor. After taking a break from cookies after the holidays, these were the perfect, nutritious goody to ease back into baking.

If you’ve been following along here for some time, you’ve probably noticed I’ve got this thing for tahini. I love it! I use it in salad dressings, fruit dip, fudge, and even popsicles! The idea for these cookies came from an older recipe I have on the blog for date sweetened peanut butter oat cookies. Now peanut butter is almost universally loved, and is certainly a safe option for a cookie recipe, but if you really want to shake things up, try tahini! It’s just a little bit exotic, and adds a really unique, unexpected, delicious flavor. I love using tahini in sweet recipes.

Feel free to add dairy free chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, nuts, or anything else that puts a smile on your face. We liked them plain too! These cookies are low in fat and sugar and high in fiber, with a moderate amount of protein… the perfect on-the-go snack or even breakfast. I hope you love them as much as we do!

Tahini Banana Oat Cookies – Vegan, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pitted dates, packed (soak in hot water and drain if dates are hard)

1 over-ripe banana

1/3 cup tahini

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup oat flour (make your own by blending rolled oats into flour in the blender)

1 tbsp ground flax seed

1 – 2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 – 1/4 tsp salt (to taste)

Optional: a handful or two of dried cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with a layer of parchment paper.

Add the first 4 ingredients to a food processor and process until combined and somewhat smooth, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until everything is combined and has formed a thick sticky dough. At this point you can stir in any optional additions.

Use a spoon to scoop out the dough, I used an over-filled tablespoon, and drop onto the cookie sheet. You can also shape the cookies into little patties if desired. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until firm and lightly golden. Cool completely before eating.

Hi Larice!
Only two minutes and I take the cookies out of the oven 😃 Can’t wait to enjoy them. The cream of dates, banana, tahini and vanilla was already so damn delicious. I was thinking of eating it and make the cookies another time haha 😄
Thank you for this great and easy recipe. And have a great weekend Larice! 😘

Haha I’m so excited!! I can’t wait to hear what you think! And that’s a great idea to just eat the banana, date and Tahini cream, it’d be a delicious dip or topping! Hope you a have a lovely weekend too Alessa! 🙂

Thanks for a mouthwatering recipe Larice! I also love tahini as well as all the other ingredients you have in the recipe!
Was wondering, do you know how I would have to adjust the recipe if using steel cut oats instead of rolled oats? I guess I would have to cook them separately first?

Aw no problem Leila! So glad you like the sounds of it! That is a really good question about the steel cut oats. I’ve never tried subbing them for rolled oats in a recipe; I’m wondering if cooking them first might add quite a bit of moisture, so not sure how that would work out with the other ingredients. I’d have to do a little searching around to see if anyone has tried baking with steel cut oats blended into flour, or already cooked. It would be an interesting experiment! If using them uncooked they would probably need extra liquid. Let me know if you decide to give it a go!